The invention relates generally to tailoring online experiences of Internet users and more particularly to integrating offline experiences of such users with the online experiences.
One of the benefits of the structure and function of distributed networks such as the Internet is the flexibility with which content such as information and opportunities can be presented. Standardized communication protocols, standardized document formats, and the ability to incorporate stored data into Web pages and Web applications, have enabled software developers to construct Web pages and Web sites that are dynamically customized for each visitor. For example, some Web sites currently permit users, during an initial registration process, or during a supplemental registration process, to indicate the type of content the user wishes to experience next time the user visits the Web site. Web sites offering news, for example, may allow the user to indicate whether he or she wishes to view world news, financial news and/or sports news only, as opposed to also receiving local news and business news. Other Web sites, which allow users to purchase goods and/or services, keep track of purchases made by the user, and using such information, suggest additional or alternative purchases to the user when the user subsequently visits the Web site.
A common feature of such tailored online experiences is that the online experience is tailored based on previous online experiences, and/or information provided by the user that is related only generally to offline experiences of the user. These limitations make the current methods unable to accommodate the desires of users for more robust online experiences that are based on specific offline experiences of the user.
Accordingly, there is a need to integrate offline experiences with online experiences, providing more robust content related to specific offline experiences.
Other current methods of tailoring online experiences make it difficult and time-consuming for a user, once having experienced a specific offline experience, to be presented with content directly related to the offline experience. For example, if a user attends a concert by his or her favorite music performer, the user may desire to read more information about the performer, have the opportunity to purchase collectible items that relate to the concert, and/or purchase tickets to future concerts by the same performer. Many companies that host or sponsor offline experiences such as concerts are in the business of offering many different types of offline experiences and/or many different offline experiences of the same type. A user who has attended the concert and wishes to obtain more information or be presented with additional opportunities related to the concert, is able to visit a Web site presented by the company hosting the concert. However, even if the Web site is well organized, the user must typically navigate through many layers of the Web site, often by answering a series of questions or responding to a series of prompts or cues, to arrive at the information or opportunities that the user desires. This process is often time-consuming and discouraging, and sometimes ultimately not fruitful for the user.
For another example, some users experience a media selection as an offline experience, but are unable to identify the title of the media selection. For example, a person hearing a song on the radio for the first time may not know the name of the song or the artist. The user may desire to obtain more information about the media selection or even purchase and download a digital copy of the media selection. Unfortunately, if the user does not know the title of the media selection, she will typically be unable to easily locate these opportunities online. While such a user can navigate to general categories of media selections, she will still need to search through the category manually in order to locate the media selection, often at considerable time expense. In many cases, the user will simply give up after trying for a certain amount of time, and/or attempt to locate the media selection at another competing Web site. While a single incident may not be devastating to an online purveyor of information and content, the cumulative affect of having users leave the Web site dissatisfied, can result in a loss of business. More importantly, online purveyors that can enable users to quickly locate content directly related to specific offline experiences, could achieve a commercial advantage over online purveys that cannot.
Accordingly, there is a need to integrate offline experiences with online experiences, enabling users to quickly and efficiently locate online content directly related to the offline experiences.
In addition, many venues through which the user experiences media selections are not capable of delivering digital copies of media selections to the user conveniently when such digital copies are desired. For example, a user may hear a song on the radio, but the radio is unable to deliver a digital copy of the song to the user. In order to obtain the digital copy, the user must return to a computer having a high-speed access connection to the Internet. If the user is in the car, this wait time can be significant. In addition, the user is required to obtain the title of the song or remember the title until that time, which are difficult tasks if the user is unfamiliar with the song. Web sites offering the downloads typically require users searching the site to know such information, and therefore the user encounters the difficulties discussed above. Further, the user is also required to wait the length of time the download takes once the download has begun. Even with high-speed Internet access modems, the downloading of media selections, depending on the audio or video quality desired, can take too long for many users.
Accordingly, there is a need to integrate offline experiences with online experiences, including online experiences that involve the downloading of digital copies of media selections, enabling users to identify specific offline experiences by providing only circumstantial information about the offline experience. There is also a need to integrate offline experiences with online experiences, making it easier to quickly provide copies of desired media selections to users, once the user has identified the media selections as being related to the user's offline experience.